Reference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting language and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Article 7, Chapter 27, Title 58 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 58-27-1060.
In order to address the challenges identified within
current utility cost of service ratemaking methodologies, cost
allocations, and rate designs in the report published pursuant
to 58-27-1050, The Office of Regulatory Staff, with guidance and
feedback from electrical utilities and other interested parties,
shall investigate and recommend to the commission revised
ratemaking methodologies, cost allocations, and rate designs for
all retail customers by December 31, 2019. The recommendations
should include a proposed timeline for implementation, including
a pilot period of at least two years to study the impact of new
rate designs on customer behaviors and on customer satisfaction.
The commission shall issue an order adopting, modifying, or
rejecting the Office of Regulatory Staff recommendations on
revised ratemaking methodologies, cost allocations, and rate
designs, in whole or in part, no later than December 31, 2022.
The proposed revisions should seek to ensure a fair allocation
of system costs and benefits between consumers, including
customers who utilize distributed energy resources and consumers
who do not utilize distributed energy resources, with a focus on
achieving the following rate design goals:
(1) provide accurate
pricing for electricity consumed and electricity generated by
utility customers;
(2) use cost-causation
principles with the need to encourage customers to utilize
privately-funded distributed energy resources in a manner that
furthers the long-term goal of lowering overall utility
costs;
(3) provide a structure
that can accommodate a variety of utility customer choices while
ensuring that utilities are adequately compensated for the
services they provide;
(4) provide a
meaningful opportunity for customers to achieve bill savings by
altering behavior or making investments in technologies or
products that reduce electricity consumption from the grid;
(5) provide that
utility customers retain flexibility to use differing
technologies as they become available;
(6) provide that the
structure is durable enough to apply to all utility customers of
a given class, including those customers within the class
utilizing distributed energy resources to reduce their
consumption of electricity from the grid;
(7) provide that the
structure is sufficiently understandable by the utility
customers to whom it will apply;
(8) provide that, using
a long-term view of quantifiable costs and benefits associated
with customer-utilized distributed energy resources,
cost-shifting between utility customers with distributed energy
resources and utility customers without distributed energy
resources is minimized to the extent possible;
(9) account for the
impacts of distributed energy resources in utility load
forecasting for purposes of distribution system and generation
resource planning to ensure that allocated costs reflect the
costs and benefits of customer-sited distributed energy
resources on the grid; and
(10) manage the introduction of new
customer loads that are capable of automation, including
electric vehicle charging, battery storage, and smart
appliances, in a manner that helps reduce customer contribution
to system peaks and improve customer load factors.
Section 58-27-1070. A party in interest may seek judicial review through Section 58-27-2310 of a commission order establishing mandatory ratemaking or rate design requirements for electrical utilities pursuant to Section 58-27-1060."
SECTION 2. Title 58 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
Section 58-42-10. (A)
It is the intent of the General Assembly to
build upon the successful deployment of solar generating
capacity through the South Carolina Distributed Resource Act to
continue enabling market-driven, private investment in
distributed energy resources across the State by reducing
regulatory and administrative burdens to customer installation
and utilization of onsite distributed energy resources. It is
the further intent of the General Assembly to avoid disruption
to the growing market for customer-scale distributed energy
resources.
(B) The General
Assembly finds that:
(1)
the South Carolina Distributed Energy Resource Act has
resulted in the rapid deployment of solar generating capacity in
the service territories of investor-owned utilities and has
proven the ability of these programs to support significant job
creation and private investment in the State; and
(2)
electrical utilities that are not subject to the South
Carolina Distributed Energy Resource Act have not experienced
the same rapid deployment of solar generating capacity since
enactment of the South Carolina Distributed Energy Resource Act.
Section 58-42-20. As
used in this chapter:
(1)
'Customer-generator' means the user of an onsite
distributed energy resource that is enrolled in net energy
metering service.
(2) 'Electrical
utility' means an electrical utility as defined in Section
58-27-10.
(3) 'Net electrical
energy measurement' means the measurement occurring at the end
of the monthly billing period where the electrical utility
determines the volume of electricity to be charged or credited
based on the net of the total imports from the grid to the
customer-generator and total exports to the grid from the
customer-generator during that billing period.
(4) 'Net metering'
means using metering equipment sufficient to measure the
difference between the electrical energy supplied to a
customer-generator by an electrical utility and the electrical
energy exported by the customer-generator to the electricity
provider over the applicable billing period.
(5) 'Net excess
generation credit' means a bill credit representing the value of
net excess generation determined in the net electrical energy
measurement according to the valuation methodology approved by
the commission in Docket No. 2014-246-E.
(6) 'Onsite distributed
energy resource' means a facility that is a 'distributed energy
resource', as defined in Section 58-39-120(C), that:
(a)
generates electricity from a renewable energy resource, as
defined in Section 58-40-10(F);
(b)
has an electric generating system with a capacity of:
(i)
not more than the lesser of one thousand kilowatts (1,000
kW AC) or one hundred percent of contract demand if a
nonresidential customer, provided the electric generating
capacity of an onsite distributed energy resource that includes
an energy storage device paired with a renewable energy resource
will be determined as the lesser of the total inverter capacity
or the sum of the direct current power components that comprise
the onsite distributed energy resource facility; or
(ii)
not more than twenty kilowatts (20 kW AC) if a residential
customer, provided the electric generating capacity of an onsite
distributed energy resource that includes an energy storage
device paired with a renewable energy resource will be
determined as the lesser of the total inverter capacity or the
sum of the direct current power components that comprise the
onsite distributed energy resource facility;
(c)
is located on a single premises owned, operated, leased,
or otherwise controlled by the customer;
(d)
is configured to serve load on the customer's side of the
electrical utility's revenue meter;
(e)
is interconnected and operates in parallel phase and
synchronization with an electrical utility and complies with the
applicable interconnection standards;
(f)
is intended primarily to offset part or all of the
customer-generator's own electrical energy requirements; and
(g)
meets all applicable safety, performance, interconnection,
and reliability standards established by the commission, the
National Electrical Code, the National Electrical Safety Code,
the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
Underwriters Laboratories, the federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, and any local governing authorities.
Section 58-42-30. This chapter applies to all electrical utilities providing retail service to electric customers in the State.
Section 58-42-210. (A)
Each electrical utility shall adopt the
interconnection standards approved by the commission for
interconnection of electric generation facilities and onsite
distributed energy resources to the distribution grid.
(B) An electrical
utility may set cost-based interconnection application fees, but
may not establish a charge of more than two-hundred fifty
dollars per interconnection request for electric generation
facilities with a nameplate capacity of twenty kilowatts (20 kW
AC) or less.
Section 58-42-220. (A)
Within one hundred eighty calendar days of
enactment of this act, the commission shall modify the
interconnection standards for generator interconnections to the
distribution system to provide an expedited procedure for
interconnection of onsite distributed energy resources,
including configurations that utilize battery storage as a
component of the distributed energy resource facility.
(B) If an electrical
utility fails to deny or approve an application for
interconnection of an onsite distributed energy resource within
thirty calendar days of receipt of a completed application, the
application is deemed approved and the electrical utility will
provide notice of permission to operate to the applicant within
five calendar days.
Section 58-42-230. An electrical utility shall not require a customer-generator to purchase additional liability insurance as a condition of interconnection for an inverter-based onsite distributed energy resource facility.
Section 58-42-240. Each electrical utility shall maintain a list of distribution circuits where the nameplate capacity of interconnected aggregate electric generation exceeds fifteen percent of circuit peak demand. Each electrical utility with over one-hundred thousand customers shall publish a map or maps reflecting available circuit capacity under the fifteen percent threshold on the electrical utility's website and shall update these maps at least on a quarterly basis.
Section 58-42-250. The owner or user of an onsite distributed energy resource may proceed with construction and installation of the facility after receiving approval from the local or county authority with appropriate permitting jurisdiction. An electrical utility shall not delay or prohibit commencement of construction or installation beyond the date of permitting approval.
Section 58-42-310. (A)
As soon as practicable, and not to exceed
thirty days after the enactment of this act, each electrical
utility shall file with the commission a net metering tariff
consistent with this section and begin offering net metering
service to customers with onsite distributed energy resources.
(B) For net metering
service, the net electrical energy measurement must be
calculated in the following manner:
(1)
For a customer-generator, an electrical utility shall
measure the net electrical energy produced or consumed during
the billing period in accordance with normal metering practices
for customers in the same rate class, either by employing a
single, bidirectional meter that measures the amount of
electrical energy produced and consumed, or by employing
multiple meters that separately measure the customer-generator's
consumption and export of electricity.
(2)
If the electricity supplied by the electrical utility
exceeds the electricity generated and exported to the electrical
utility by the customer-generator during a billing period, the
customer-generator must be billed for the net electricity
supplied by the electrical utility in accordance with normal
practices for customers in the same rate class.
(3)
Any energy generated by the customer-generator and
exported to the electrical utility's grid that exceeds the
energy supplied by the electrical utility during a monthly
billing period must be recorded as a net excess generation
credit.
(4)
Net excess generation credits may not be used to offset
the nonvolumetric electricity charges.
(5)
The utility shall maintain an account of any net excess
generation credits accruing from the customer-generator's excess
generation and allow those credits to be used to offset the
customer-generator's volumetric energy charges during future
billing periods.
(C) Customer-generators
utilizing an energy storage device as part of the onsite
distributed energy resource may participate in net metering so
long as the storage device is configured to charge solely from a
renewable energy resource, as that term is defined in Section
58-40-10(F).
(D) Any renewable or
environmental attributes associated with a customer-generator's
onsite distributed energy resource are the sole property of the
customer-generator or the customer-generator's assignee and may
not be claimed by the interconnected electrical utility except
through a written agreement with the customer-generator or the
customer-generator's assignee that is supported by appropriate
consideration for the transfer of those attributes.
(E) Each electrical
utility shall develop a standardized net metering agreement,
substantially similar to the agreement approved by the
commission pursuant to this section. The standardized net
metering agreement shall:
(1)
guarantee the right of the customer-generator to continue
to receive net metering service for the associated onsite
distributed energy resource facility under the terms of this
section in effect on the date of execution for a period of
thirty years;
(2)
allow for the assignment of the net metering agreement by
the customer-generator to subsequent owners or users of the
onsite distributed energy resource facility at the premises
where it was originally installed;
(3)
allow for reasonable capacity increases or modifications
to the distributed energy resource, including the addition of an
energy storage device, routine component complacent, and
addition of generation capacity that does not exceed one-quarter
of one percent of the original capacity;
(4)
provide that the customer-generator will have access to
the same electrical rate options that the customer would have
had if they had not installed and utilized onsite distributed
energy resources; and
(5)
allow the electrical utility to terminate the agreement if
the onsite distributed energy resource is inactive for a
consecutive period of twelve months or if the customer-generator
is operating the facility in violation of laws or regulations
related to safety and reliability of the grid.
(F) Within thirty days
of the enactment of this act, the commission shall issue a
notice to request comments and proposals for a standardized net
metering agreement from all interested persons. Within
one-hundred fifty days of the enactment of this act, the
commission shall issue an order approving a standardized net
metering agreement.
(G) Customers engaged
in a prior net metering program may opt out and apply for net
metering service as soon as the net metering tariff and
standardized net metering agreement is available. Customers
enrolling in net metering under this chapter prior to the
availability of the net metering agreement may begin receiving
net metering service under the terms of this section and may
subsequently execute the commission-approved net metering
agreement. For customer-generators opting out of a legacy net
metering service that is included in a commission-approved
distributed energy resource program, nothing in this section
prohibits an electrical utility from continuing to recover
distributed energy resource program costs for the duration and
in the manner approved by the commission prior to the enactment
of this act.
(H) Electrical
utilities may charge a one-time, cost-based interconnection
application fee for a net metering facility. The one-time
interconnection application fee shall not exceed two-hundred
fifty dollars for customers applying to interconnect a
distributed energy resource with a total nameplate generating
capacity of twenty kilowatts or less.
(I) An electrical
utility that has customer-generators taking net metering service
under a legacy net metering program pursuant to Section
58-40-10, et seq. shall provide these customer-generators the
opportunity to transition to new net metering service under this
chapter and shall automatically transition these
customer-generators to new net metering service upon the
termination of the customer-generator's rights to receive net
metering service pursuant to a commission-approved distributed
energy resource program.
Section 58-42-320. (A)
Electrical utilities shall provide service
to customers that install and utilize onsite distributed energy
resources at nondiscriminatory rates that are identical, with
respect to rate structure, retail rate components, and any
monthly charges to the rates that the customer would be charged
for electricity supplied by the electrical utility if they did
not utilize onsite distributed energy resources and shall not
require a separately allocated class of service for these
customers.
(B) Nothing in this
section prohibits a customer utilizing onsite distributed energy
resources from taking optional service under an alternate
structure that is specifically developed for and available to
customers using onsite distributed energy resources.
Section 58-42-330. An industrial account utilizing an onsite distributed energy resource facility with a nameplate capacity of at least one-hundred kilowatts is exempt from paying the incremental distributed energy resource program costs that are subject to the cost cap in Section 58-39-150.
Section 58-42-340. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no electrical utility shall seek to recover through a general rate case or another proceeding the lost revenues associated with customer energy-saving measures. For purposes of this section, 'consumer energy-saving measure' means any equipment, technology, or practice employed by a customer to reduce the customer's consumption of grid-delivered electricity. Nothing in this section prevents an electrical utility from recovering the reasonable and prudent costs, as determined by the commission or the electrical utility's governing board or authority, of any direct incentive or rebate program that encourages customers of the electrical utility to invest in or employ customer energy-saving measures.
Section 58-42-410. (A)
The owner of an onsite distributed energy
resource facility contracting with the customer-generator using
that facility through a power purchase agreement or other
agreement providing for the ongoing operation and maintenance of
the facility is not considered an electrical utility pursuant to
Section 58-27-10(7).
(B) Prior to offering a
power purchase or other agreement for the operation and
maintenance of an onsite distributed energy resource facility to
a prospective customer-generator, the owner of the facility must
obtain and maintain a certificate pursuant to Section 58-27-2620
that permits the owner to market and lease renewable electric
generation facilities to customer-generator lessees.
Section 58-42-510. As
used in this article:
(1) 'First responder'
means a law enforcement officer, a fire department worker, or a
paramedic with a primary place of residence in this State who is
employed by or volunteers for a state, county, or municipal
agency that ordinarily provides emergency services to citizens
of this State during a natural disaster or state of emergency as
declared by state or federal authorities.
(2) 'Designated
emergency shelter' means a building owned by a state, county, or
municipal government agency which has been designated by
appropriate authorities as a place of community refuge made
available to provide temporary shelter and housing to citizens
during a natural disaster or state of emergency as declared by
the governor or other authorized official.
(3) 'Onsite
solar-storage facility' means an onsite distributed energy
resource facility paired with a battery storage device
which:
(a)
utilizes solar energy to generate electricity sufficient
to meet at least fifty percent of the host customer's annual
electrical requirements;
(b)
is capable of isolating from the electric grid and
operating independently during periods of electrical outages;
and
(c)
has sufficient battery storage capacity to supply a
minimum of twenty-four hours of back-up power to the customer's
critical loads or a minimum of five hours of the customer's
average daily usage.
Section 58-42-520. (A)
Each electrical utility shall develop and
implement an incentive program to encourage the installation of
an onsite solar-storage facility to serve the critical loads
of:
(1)
the primary residence of a first responder; and
(2)
designated emergency shelters within the service territory
of the electrical utility.
(B) Each electrical
utility's disaster readiness incentive program shall provide
ratepayer-funded incentives, including rebates, grants, or other
forms of incentives that support the purchase and installation
of an onsite solar-storage facility, on a first-come, first
served basis to encourage the installation of onsite
solar-storage facilities with an aggregate nameplate capacity
equal to or greater than one-quarter of one percent of the
electrical utility's 2016 peak demand. Not less than twenty-five
percent of the available incentive capacity must be reserved for
solar-storage facilities installed on the primary residences of
first responders.
(C) The commission
shall allow an electrical utility subject to its jurisdiction to
recover the prudently incurred costs of implementing and
administering the disaster readiness incentive program."
SECTION 3. Section 58-40-10(C) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(C)
'Customer-generator' means the owner, operator,
lessee, or customer-generator lessee user of an
electric energy generation unit which
that:
(1)
generates electricity from a renewable energy
resource;
(2)
has an electric generating system with a capacity of:
(a)
not more than the lesser of one thousand kilowatts (1,000
kW AC) or one hundred percent of contract demand if a
nonresidential customer; or
(b)
not more than twenty kilowatts (20 kW AC) if a residential
customer;
(3)
is located on a single premises owned, operated, leased,
or otherwise controlled by the customer;
(4)
is interconnected and operates in parallel phase and
synchronization with an electrical utility and complies with the
applicable interconnection standards;
(5)
is intended primarily to offset part or all of the
customer-generator's own electrical energy requirements; and
(6)
meets all applicable safety, performance, interconnection,
and reliability standards established by the commission, the
National Electrical Code, the National Electrical Safety Code,
the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
Underwriters Laboratories, the federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, and any local governing authorities."
SECTION 4. Section 58-40-20(A) and (B) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(A) Net
energy metering rates approved by the commission under the terms
of this chapter shall be the exclusive net energy metering rates
available to customer-generators. Upon commission approval, such
net energy metering rates shall supersede all prior net energy
metering rates. Customer-generators whose net energy
metering facilities were energized prior to the availability of
net energy metering rates approved by the commission under the
terms of this chapter may remain in historic net energy metering
programs through December 31, 2020.
(B) An electrical
utility shall make net energy metering available to
customer-generators on a first-come, first-served basis until
the total nameplate generating capacity of net energy metering
systems equals two percent of the previous five-year average of
the electrical utility's South Carolina retail peak demand.
No electrical utility shall be required to approve any
application for interconnection from net energy metering
customer-generators if the total rated generating capacity of
all applications for interconnection from net energy metering
customer-generators already approved to date by the electrical
utility equals or exceeds two percent of the previous five-year
average of the electrical utility's South Carolina retail peak
demand. Applications for interconnection from net
energy metering customer-generators received after December 31,
2020, or after the two percent cap is met, will proceed under
the statewide net metering program established in Section
58-42-310. If an electrical utility's cap is met prior to the
approval of a successor tariff pursuant to Section 58-42-310,
the electrical utility shall continue to make the currently
approved net metering rider or tariff available to new
applicants for net metering service for the interim period and
will provide these interim customer-generators a new
standardized net metering agreement pursuant to Section
58-42-310(E) within thirty days of commission
approval."
SECTION 5. Section 58-27-2610 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 58-27-2610.
(A) An entity that owns a renewable
electric generation facility, located on a premises or residence
owned or leased by an eligible customer-generator lessee to
serve the electric energy requirements of that particular
premises or residence or to enable the customer-generator lessee
to obtain a credit for or engage in the sale of energy from the
renewable electric generation facility to that
customer-generator lessee's retail electric provider or its
designee, shall must be permitted to
lease such the facility exclusively to a
customer-generator lessee under a lease, provided that the
entity complies with the terms, conditions, and restrictions set
forth within this article and holds a valid certificate issued
by the Office of Regulatory Staff. An entity owning renewable
electric generation facilities in compliance with the terms of
this article shall is not
be considered an 'electrical utility'
under pursuant to Section 58-27-10 if
the renewable electric generation facilities are
only made available only to a
customer-generator lessee for the customer-generator lessee's
use on the customer-generator lessee's premises or the residence
where the renewable electric generation facilities are located,
or for the sale of energy to that customer-generator lessee's
retail electric provider or its designee, and pursuant to a
lease.
(B) All
customer-generator lessees that interconnect renewable electric
generation facilities to a retail electric provider's
transmission or distribution system must enroll in the
applicable rate schedules made available by that retail electric
provider, subject to the participation limitations set forth
therein or in the policy adopted by the retail electric provider
not subject to Section 58-40-20(B), and the customer-generator
lessee shall otherwise comply with all requirements of Section
58-40-10, et seq., or the policy adopted by the retail electric
provider not subject to Section 58-40-10, et seq. A
lessor of a renewable electric generation facility may provide
additional warranty service to guarantee that the facility's
electrical output will fall within an expected range based on
the age and expected degradation of system components, any
site-specific factors impacting facility production present at
the time of installation, and meteorological conditions.
Payments or credits provided to customer-generator lessees
pursuant to these warranties or agreements must not be construed
as implicating a retail sale of electricity.
(C) To comply with the
terms of this article, each customer-generator lessee renewable
electric generation facility shall serve only one premises or
residence, and shall not serve multiple customer-generator
lessees or multiple premises or residences.
(D) Any lease of a
renewable electric generation facility not entered into pursuant
to this article is prohibited. The owner of a renewable electric
generation facility subject to any a
lease entered into outside of this program shall
be is considered an 'electrical utility'
under pursuant to Section 58-27-10.
(E) This
section shall not be construed as allowing any sales of
electricity from renewable electric generation facilities
directly to any customer of any retail electric provider by the
owner. This article shall must
not be construed as abridging or impairing any existing rights
or obligations, established by contract or statute, of retail
electric providers to serve South Carolina customers. The
electrical output from any a renewable
electric generation unit leased pursuant to this program
shall be is the sole and exclusive
property of the customer-generator lessee.
(F) An entity and its
affiliates that lawfully provide retail electric service to the
public may offer leases of renewable generation facilities in
those areas or territories where it provides retail electric
service. No such A provider or affiliate
shall not offer or enter into leases of renewable
generation facilities in areas served by another retail electric
provider.
(G) The costs an
electrical utility incurs in marketing, installing, owning, or
maintaining solar leases through its own leasing programs as a
lessor shall must not be recovered from
other nonparticipating electrical utility customers through
rates, provided, however, except that an
electrical utility and the customer-generator lessees
which who lease facilities from it may
participate on an equal basis with other lessors and lessees in
any applicable programs provided pursuant to Chapter 39,
of this title, 1976 Code Sections 58-39-110, et
seq. Title 58, and nothing in this section shall
prevent the reasonable and prudent costs of a utility's
distributed energy resource programs, including the provision of
incentives to its own lessees and other allowable costs, from
being reflected in a utility's rates as provided for
in pursuant to Chapter 39, or as
otherwise permitted under generally applicable regulatory
principles.
(H) The total
installed capacity of all renewable electric generation
facilities on a retail electric provider's system that are
leased pursuant to this article shall not exceed two percent of
the previous five-year average of the retail electric provider's
South Carolina residential and commercial contribution to
coincident retail peak demand and two percent of the previous
five-year average of the retail electric provider's South
Carolina industrial contribution to coincident retail peak
demand. A provider may refuse to interconnect with customers
where to do so would result in this limitation being exceeded.
Every retail electric provider must establish a program for new
installations of leased equipment to permit the reservation of
capacity on its system including provisions to prevent or
discourage abuse of such programs. Such programs must provide
that only prospective individual customer-generator lessees may
apply for, receive, and hold reservations. Each reservation
shall be for a single customer premises only and may not be
sold, exchanged, traded, or assigned except as part of the sale
of the underlying premises. Requests for reservations to
electrical utilities as defined in Section 58-27-10 shall
accompany applications for interconnection of the leased
facilities pursuant to Chapter 40, Title 58 and the reservation
shall remain in force only so long as the application or permit
for interconnection remains active. Electrical utilities as
defined in Section 58-27-10 shall submit programs establishing
the terms of such reservations to the commission for
approval.
(I)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (H),
for an electrical utility for which more than fifty percent of
the electricity that it generates in South Carolina comes from
renewable resources, the total installed capacity of all
renewable electric generation facilities on its system that are
leased pursuant to this article shall not exceed one-tenth of
one percent of the previous five-year average of the electrical
utility's South Carolina residential and commercial contribution
to coincident retail peak demand and one-tenth of one percent of
the previous five-year average of the electrical utility's South
Carolina industrial contribution to coincident retail peak
demand. Electrical utilities meeting the requirements of this
subsection shall not be required to establish a capacity
reservation program as required by subsection (H).
(J)(1)
The provisions of this Article 23
related to leased generation facilities shall
do not apply to facilities:
(a)
facilities serving a single premises
that which are not interconnected with a
retail electric provider;
(b)
facilities owned by customer generators
but financed by a third party; or
(c)
facilities used exclusively for standby
emergency service or participation in an approved standby
generation program operated by a retail electric provider.
(2)
The commission may promulgate regulations consistent with
this section interpreting the scope of these exemptions as to
electrical utilities."
SECTION 6. Section 58-27-2630(A)(9) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(9) an
affidavit a signed declaration from the
customer-generator lessee that it will not sell, resell, or
attempt to sell or resell the electrical output of the facility
to any a person, corporation, or entity,
other than the customer-generator lessee's retail electric
provider or its designee, that the primary purpose for the
operation of the renewable electric generation facility is to
generate electricity for the benefit of the premises where it is
located, and that the facility has been or will be operated in
substantial compliance with all federal and state laws, rules,
and regulations and all local codes and ordinances."
SECTION 7. A. Section 12-37-220(B) of the 1976 Code is amended by adding an appropriately numbered item at the end to read:
"( )(a)
Effective for property tax years beginning after
2017, a renewable energy resource property having a nameplate
capacity of and generating no greater than twenty kilowatts, as
measured in alternating current, is exempt.
(b)
For purposes of this item, 'renewable energy resource'
means property defined in Section 58-40-10. This definition
includes, but is not limited to, all components that enhance the
operational characteristics of the generating equipment, such as
an advanced inverter or battery storage device, and equipment
required to meet all applicable safety, performance,
interconnection, and reliability standards established by the
commission, the National Electrical Code, the National
Electrical Safety Code, the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Underwriters Laboratories, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, and any local governing
authorities."
B. This SECTION takes effect in property tax years beginning after 2017 and shall apply and terminate in the same manner as provided in Section 1.B. of Act 134 of 2016.
SECTION 8. A. Section 12-6-3770(A) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(A) A taxpayer who constructs, purchases, or leases solar energy property located on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priority List, National Priority List Equivalent Sites, or on a list of related removal actions, as certified by the Department of Health and Environmental Control, or on property owned by the Pinewood Site Custodial Trust, located in the State of South Carolina, and places it in service in this State during the taxable year, is allowed an income tax credit equal to twenty-five percent of the cost, including the cost of installation of the property. The credit is earned in the year in which the solar energy property is placed in service, but must be taken in five equal annual installments, beginning in the year in which the solar energy property is placed in service. Unused credit may be carried forward for five taxable years from the year in which the credit was able to be taken. A lessor shall give a taxpayer who leases solar energy property from him a statement that describes the solar energy property and states the cost of the property upon request. A credit is not allowed pursuant to this section to the extent the cost of the solar energy property is provided by public funds. For purposes of this section, 'public funds' does not include federal grants or tax credits."
B. This SECTION takes effect in income tax years beginning after 2017 and shall apply and terminate in the same manner as provided in Section 1.B. of Act 134 of 2016.
SECTION 9. Except as otherwise provided, this act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.